The Australian Workers Party, acknowledges the long years of social and economic input that the majority of Australians commit. If they have done their job well, they will have purchased homes, raised children, worked, spent and saved when possible, which all helps to keep the economy ticking over. They have payed taxes, and an elder support is due to them when their work life is over. Every person in this country should be under the same asset test scrutiny. from the Prime Minister, down to the poorest of our society. Poverty is not a sign of a life not well lived. There are people living in poverty at an old age, because of reasons beyond their control. If a wealthy retiree can support themselves, this is good. They will not need to claim assistance, and assistance should be given as needed. There should be no class discrimination against older Australians. A basic living income, with adequate health care should be the ex employees' human rights. Being older and relying on assistance does not equate to working /not working as many older people continue to contribute to society when they can.

Summary. (For those who just want the facts)

It is the policy of the Australian Workers Party (AWP) that:

All Australians, aged 65 or over, who have been residents for 10 years or more are entitled to a means tested “Age Pension” when they retire.

Upon implementation of this policy, the age pension for a single person shall be set at 50% of the Full Time Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings as published by the Bureau of Statistics. Less tax.

For a couple, it shall be 1.326 times the single rate.

The pension shall be indexed in accordance with the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI)

The value shall be increased/decreased twice yearly. March 20 and September 20.

Means testing. Pre January 1, 2017 rules apply.

Details. (For those who need to know the nitty gritty)

A brief history of the age pension in Australia.

At the turn of the century, there was no social security system in Australia. Any form of “charity” was provided to the needy by volunteers.In June 1908, the Commonwealth legislated for the introduction of means tested flat rate aged and invalid pensions. The pensions were financed from general revenue.The new pension was paid to men aged 65 and women aged 60. A person had to be a resident of 25 years, but this was quickly reduced to 20 years.No new social security payments were introduced until World War 2.The only changes prior to WW II were in the rates, and a provision for automatic increases which was introduced in 1933, repealed in 1937, then reinstated in 1940.In 1945, the Commonwealth split personal income tax. One component was the social services contribution which was payed into a National Welfare Fund.The social services contribution was again merged into a single income tax in 1950 and the money in the fund was absorbed into general revenue.All payments are now made from general revenue.Since 1950 there have been continuing changes made to the pension which are far too numerous to list here. Most of the changes have been about the incumbent government being re-elected rather than insuring the financial wellbeing of aged citizens.When compared to the Henderson Poverty Line (established in 1973 by the Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry into Poverty) and updated quarterly, the present value of the pension is below the poverty line.The OECD definition of the poverty line is 50% of the median wage for a country.The difficulty here is the word median. Median has a specific meaning when used in statistics. It is the middle number in a series and does not necessarily equal the average. Most people understand an average so that is what AWP will refer to.

It is the policy of the Australian Workers Party (AWP) that:

All Australians, aged 65 or over, who have been residents for 10 years or more are entitled to a means tested “Age Pension” when they retire.

Upon implementation of this policy the pension for a single person shall be set at 50% of the Full Time Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings as published by the Bureau of Statistics. Less tax.

For a couple, it shall be 1.326 times the single rate.

Any increase/decrease shall occur twice yearly. March 20 and September 20.The rate of increase/decrease shall be in accordance with the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI)The PBLCI is published quarterly by the Bureau of Statistics and will be compounded for the twice-yearly updates.

Means testing.

Pre-January 1, 2017 rules apply.

Means test overview:

Excludes the principle home and its surrounding land on the same title.

From government figures, the age pension currently costs approximately $41b.When this policy is implemented, the cost will rise to $75.5b.A difference of $34.5b.

How will this be funded?

Cancelling the proposed $50b tax cut to business (most of which don’t pay tax anyway) more than pays for this policy.

Taxing the companies that currently don’t pay any tax.

Foreign ownership review considering the “offshoring” of profits by multinationals.

Overseas investments being taxed. The Cayman Islands comes to mind.

Negative gearing shall be abolished.

Capital gains tax review.

The implementation of modern monetary policy.

Reviewing military spending;

1) Do we need 12 submarines. Would 6 do?

2) Cancel the fighter contract and buy something we can afford and that actually flies.Bring Australia’s military posture more toward defence than aggression in foreign countries.

References and Acknowledgements.

National Economic and Social Impact Survey, 2015. The Salvation Army.Out of Reach. National Economic & Social Impact Survey, 2016. The Salvation Army.Pension Review. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Aug. 2008.Poverty in Australia. 2016. ACOSS.A Decent Quality of Life. March 2008. Standing Committee on Community Affairs.

In drafting this policy, I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of AWP members D. Renn, M. McGahey, and the AWP administrative group.Without their valued assistance, this policy could not have been written.

This graph puts a lie to the idea that Australia is a high tax nation.